3,500 runners take part in Chandigarh marathon

Ethiopia’s Olbana Negasa Yadate and Meskerem Tesfaye Fikadu emerged winners in the men's and women’s full marathon categories, respectively, as around 3,500 runners participated in the Chandigarh International Marathon on Sunday.

In the half-marathon (21 km), Harmanjot Singh of India and Ethiopia’s Tsehay Desalegn clinched the men’s and women’s titles respectively.

The 10-km run saw Sahil Kapoor win the men's race, while Soniya, also from India, finished first in the women's category.

Organised by the Chandigarh administration, the marathon featured four competitive categories: 42 km (full marathon), 21 km (half marathon), 10 km, and 5 km.

A total of 323 participants competed in the 42 km, 740 in the 21 km, 1,270 in the 10 km, and 1,168 in the 5 km categories.

The event also saw 38 international participants from eight countries and 21 specially-abled participants.

Punjab Governor and UT Chandigarh Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria, along with his wife Anita Kataria, flagged off the Chandigarh Marathon and also participated in the 5 km category, said a release.

Also present on the occasion were Member of Rajya Sabha Satnam Singh Sandhu; Member of the Administrator's Sports Advisory Council Sanjay Tandon; Home Secretary Mandip Singh Brar; Director General of Police, Chandigarh, Sagar Preet Hooda; Sports Secretary Prerna Puri; Deputy Commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav and other dignitaries.